Balancing Running with Family, Work, Faith, and Anything Else That Comes My Way

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Old Race Bibs Make Great Sukkah Decorations

Four days after Yom Kippur is the festival of Sukkot. One of the primary requirements of the 8 day festival is to eat your meals in a Sukkah. The Torah says:

"You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." (Leviticus 23:42-43).

We eat in a temporary structure so that we remember how our ancestors lived while traveling through the desert after their exodus from Egpyt. Some Torah commentators give another reason for eating outside. They say that we leave the comfort of our homes to remind us that ultimately G-D is our protector. Just like He protected the Israelites in the desert, so too He protects us in modern times.

Anyway....one of the fun parts of preparing for the holiday is to decorate the sukkah. Usually, our sukkah is decorated with plastic fruit, wind chimes, and some projects that Lil Ansky made when she was younger. This year, I added a more personal touch to the sukkah by hanging some old race bibs.